A Solution is a grouping of Products, Labor Items, and these Package Types (Packages, Allowances, and Bundled Cable.) Solutions provide a quick way to add multiple Items to a Project. They also provide flexibility on how labor is charged for the Solution. If the items you add to the Solution contain Accessories, you have the option to include or exclude them.
Solutions can be something as simple as a wire assembly or as complex as a complete system with every bit and piece accounted for within the Solution.
Solutions cannot be added to Purchase Orders, Tasks, Service Orders, or Service Plans. The Products and Labor Items within the Solution can be added to these "entities."
Solutions cannot be transferred to QuickBooks on Estimates or Purchase Orders, rather the Products and Labor Items within the Solution are sent as Items to QuickBooks.
We recommend that you go through this article to understand how Solutions work when added to a Project before creating and adding them to Projects.
The following are the tabs in the Create Solution form.
General
The General tab displays basic information about the Solution. This includes a Name, Group, Description, Image and Options.
The following are the fields in the General tab.
Field | Description |
Name | The name of the Solution. |
Category | The Package Category assigned to the Solution.
Click the Package Categories button on the ribbon to manage your groups. |
Abbreviation | This allows you to set an abbreviation for the Solution that can be used in the Component ID format for the Solution. |
Description | The Description of the Solution.
Click the Check Spelling button to check the spelling and add to the dictionary.
You can change the case of one or multiple words at a time. Make multiple selections by holding down Shift (to select a series) or Ctrl (to select outside of a series). Your options are Upper, Lower, Title, and Sentence.
You can also insert an existing Snippet or add a new Snippet. |
Part Number | Here you can enter a Part Number for the Solution if desired. |
Image | Here you can add an image to a Solution. You can use the Add, Paste, and Clear functions or you can drag and drop images directly into the field.
The Options section allows you to specify how this Solution will behave when added to a project. |
Prompt Accessories | This setting applies when adding Solutions to a Project via the Package Explorer within the Project.
This will prompt you for any Accessories for Products and Labor Items when adding the Solution to the Project vs. automatically adding them.
This setting does not apply to Products/Labor Items that are within Packages in the Solution, i.e. the Package setting for this option will override the Solution's setting.
Note: For this feature to work, you must also check "Include Accessories." |
Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in the package) | This setting will ignore all Phase/Hour labor rates for all Products in the Solution.
Labor for the Solution will only be calculated based on Labor Items that have been added to the Solution, or Packages within the Solution. |
Summarize in Client Reports | This will hide all item details for the Solution on Proposal reports.
The fields that will display are Name, Description, and Price for the Solution, as well as the image if you are running a report with images. |
Include Accessories | When checked, the Accessories for any Products and Labor Items added to the Solution will be included in the Solution.
This setting does not apply to Products/Labor Items that are within Packages in the Solution, i.e. the Package setting for this option will override the Solution's setting. |
Accounting Item Name | This field does not apply to Solutions. |
Approved | Indicates whether a Solution has been approved for use. |
Price
All pricing and labor hours for a Solution come directly from the prices of the items added to the Solution.
Product section
The following are the fields in the Product section of the Price tab.
Field | Description |
Unit Cost | This displays the sum cost of all Products in the Solution. Read-only. |
Unit Cost (With Tax) | This displays the sum cost with tax if a Use Tax is set for any/all Products in the Solution. Read-only. |
Unit Price | This displays the sum price of all Products in the Solution. Read-only. |
Margin | Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price.
This behavior varies based on your Price Settings. Read-only. |
Markup | Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price.
This behavior varies based on your Price Settings. Read-only. |
Discount | Here you can enter a discount percentage for the sum price of the Package. |
Net Unit Price | This field will show the unit price of the Solution after the discount is applied. |
Labor section
The following are the fields in the Labor section of the Price tab.
Field | Description |
Cost | This displays the sum cost of all labor in the Solution. Both labor from the Products added to the Solution as well as Labor Items.
You can choose not to have labor from the Products included in this price if you check the "Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in package) on the General tab. Read-only. |
Price | Displays the sum price of all labor in the Solution. Both labor from the Products added to the Solution as well as Labor Items.
You can choose not to have labor from the Products included in this price if you check the "Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in package) on the General tab. Read-only. |
Margin | Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. Read-only. |
Markup | Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below. Read-only. |
Hours | This displays the hours from Products and Labor Items added to the Solution. Read-only. |
Factor | Here you can enter a percentage to increase or decrease the number of hours on the Solution. |
Net Hours | Here can adjust the number of hours on the Solution. Editing this field will automatically set the "Factor" field above. |
Install section
The following are the fields in the Install (Total) section of the Price tab.
Field | Description |
Cost | This displays the sum cost of all the products and labor in the Solution. Tax is not included in this value. Read-only. |
Price | This displays the sum price of all the products and labor in the Solution. Tax is not included in this value. Read-only. |
Margin | Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. Read-only. |
Markup | Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%. This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below. Read-only. |
Estimated Installation Price | To see full details of pricing, including taxes, click the Estimated Installation Price link.
This will open a window and display the details of the pricing for the Solution based on your default tax rate and Phase Labor Rates. |
Taxes and Phase values can vary per Project.
Items
The Items Tab displays the list of items in the Solution and is where you will add/edit/delete items.
One of the major differences between a Package and a Solution in SI is that you can add Packages, Allowances, and Bundled Cable to a Solution.
Price Type
The radio buttons will allow you to choose a specific Price Type for the Solution items and that will override the Price Type for a Project when added to a Project.
Shapes and Blocks
The Shapes and Blocks tab will allow you to assign a specific shape or block to a Solution for use on Visio and AutoCAD Line and Plan pages.
Add a shape or block for each package item
This is standard behavior for Solutions and will drop a shape for every item within the Solution when the Solution is dragged and dropped onto a Visio/AutoCAD page.
Add a shape or block for specific items in the package
This option will allow you to select which items within the Solution will drop shapes when the Solution is dragged and dropped onto a Visio/AutoCAD page.
Add a single shape or block for this package on Line and Plan views
This will allow you to select a shape for just the Solution for Line or Plan pages in Visio/AutoCAD.
Solution Categories
The Package Categories button will display your Solution Categories and allow you to manage them.
Solution Categories allow you to organize your Solutions and help with filtering.
Additional Solution Fields
Solutions have the following additional options when added to a Project.
Package ID - This is the Component ID for the Solution.
Items in the package can be in different locations and systems - This setting will allow you to assign items within a Solution to different Locations/Systems within a Project.
Optional - This will make the Solution optional within a Project.
There is also the Location hierarchy and System list for the Project.